News from North Greenville University

'A Winner Never Quits,' Says Army Ranger NGU Alumnus

“A winner never quits, and a quitter never wins” is a phrase
that North Greenville University alumnus and First lieutenant Timothy Paul
Scott (’14) heard his father repeat many times when he was growing up. No other
phrase is more fitting to describe Scott’s most recent accomplishment.

After failing to meet a graduation requirement, Scott was denied
entrance into the U.S. Army Ranger School. His persistence to not accept failure
and the ability to try again caused him to do just that; as a result, he not
only passed the entrance requirements, but also went on to emerge as the Officer
Honor Graduate of his class.

“One of the most
important words in my vocabulary is ‘persist,’” says Scott. “I whisper it to
myself often.”

Throughout his life, Scott has worked hard to be the best at
everything he does. This is evident in his athletic history, grades in school,
and now his military career.

“I do not accept failure as a satisfactory outcome from any
situation if I still have the ability to try again,” he says.

Instead, he forces himself to be persistent until he achieves
his goal.

Scott says when the apostle Paul became Jesus’ witness to the
Gentiles, he displayed undeniable persistence. For preaching the gospel of
Jesus Christ, Paul was once stoned, dragged out of the city of Lystra, and
left for dead because his wounds were so bad his persecutors presumed his death
was imminent or that he had already died.

The event the Bible explains next is almost unfathomable.

Acts 19:20 (ESV) reads, “When the disciples gathered about
[Paul], he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with
Barnabas to Derbe. When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made
many disciples, they returned to Lystra.”

Scott says Paul’s return to Lystra casts a shadow over his
return to Ranger School in an incredible fashion.

“Paul is my namesake, and I take that very seriously. With
whatever task I am ever faced, I aspire to persist unto success with the same
passion and integrity that the Apostle Paul displayed in those days, preaching
the gospel,” says Scott.

Scott returned to Ranger School with full confidence in the
Lord to lead him in the direction of His choosing.

Scott says that his desire to be a Ranger was inspired by the
leaders that meant so much to him.

“Throughout my short time in the military, the individuals
who truly stuck out to me as driven leaders wore Ranger tabs on their left
shoulder. LTC Gilleran, my professor of military science during my time in
ROTC, wore one. I knew I wanted to be a Ranger since the day I met him. Others
along the way simply reinforced my desire to be part of such an elite group,”
says Scott.

Scott’s military career began in the ROTC at NGU, where he
participated for three years while earning his bachelor’s degree in Christian studies.
NGU’s ROTC program partners with Furman. He never really made a specific
decision from which he set out to join ROTC; rather, he met a cadet recruiter
in the school’s dining hall and decided to fully enroll in the program after
attending a few ROTC classes.

Scott says that Colonel Tom Gilleran, then a lieutenant
colonel; the entire team; and also his classmates at Furman had a huge impact
on in his development as a leader.

When asked if he would recommend others to look into the ROTC
program, he responds:

“I would recommend it to people who want to be leaders and to
be a part of a team bigger than themselves. ROTC is a unique opportunity to join
the ranks of the greatest army the world has ever beheld,” Scott says. “I would
not, however, recommend it to any student who I did not think possessed the
capability to lead soldiers.”

Scott graduated as a Distinguished Military Graduate and the
Paladin Battalion Commander; he’s the first NGU representative to serve as Furman’s
Cadet Battalion Commander.

He was named Special Teams Player of the Week while he was a
freshman member of the football team, and he also earned several gold medals
for pole vaulting in the Conference Carolina’s championships during his sophomore,
junior, and senior years.

Scott is currently stationed in Vicenza, Italy, where he serves
as a paratrooper in the 173rd Airborne Brigade. He plans to serve at least
one more tour with the U.S. Army.

Photo: First lieutenant Timothy Paul Scott ('14) at his U.S. Army Ranger School graduation.

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